April 30: As India mourns the loss of 27 tourists killed in a recent terror attack in Pahalgam, serious questions are being raised over the financial conduct of Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat. A series of high-value property transactions by the senior IPS officer and his family, worth over Rs 50 crore, have come under national spotlight following an investigative report by The New Indian.
Barely two months after taking charge as J&K’s top cop in October 2024, Prabhat was reportedly finalizing the purchase of prime land in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. Official records show that on December 16, 2024, an 8-bigha agricultural plot in Phathi Baruah Kothi was acquired for Rs 9.6 crore, with an additional Rs 95 lakh paid in stamp duty and registration, bringing the total to over Rs 10 crore. The property is jointly owned by his wife, Poonam Prabhat, and son Ahaan.
Though Prabhat disclosed the purchase in November 2024 as per procedural norms, the timing and scale of the acquisition, especially as he took on a critical role in a sensitive region, have raised eyebrows both within the Ministry of Home Affairs and the public.
Adding to the controversy is a Rs 26.23 crore real estate deal from 2023, when Prabhat was serving in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The purchase of a luxury bungalow in Chandigarh’s elite Sector 5 was made jointly by Prabhat, his wife, and another son, Arhan. The funding for this high-end property, as per Prabhat’s official declaration, came entirely from an advance paid by Delhi-based businessman Vijay Bansal, who agreed to buy three agricultural plots in Zirakpur from the Prabhat family. The payments totaled Rs 21.28 crore, Rs 6.9 crore, and Rs 35 lakh.
Two of the plots involved were inherited ancestral lands passed down from Prabhat’s grandfather, D.S. Mohi. However, no market valuation documents were made public to justify the declared figures. Legal experts argue that the transactions, off-market and unusually large, warrant further scrutiny into the source of funds, valuation process, and potential legal loopholes.
Prabhat has declared all these assets in accordance with service rules. However, his monthly government salary of Rs 2,24,100 does not seem to align with the frequency and value of his property acquisitions. Other declared assets include a Rs 2.35 crore land parcel received from his mother in Zirakpur (2021), a Rs 37-lakh apartment purchased in 2013, a Rs 9-crore bungalow inherited from his father in 2015, and a Rs 25-lakh property in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. He also reported spending Rs 1.8 crore on renovation work at the Chandigarh bungalow in 2023, despite being posted in insurgency-hit Kashmir at the time.
A detailed questionnaire was sent to DGP Prabhat, seeking clarification on the property deals, sources of funds, and his relationship with Vijay Bansal. No response had been received at the time of publication.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has acknowledged the financial disclosures and is reportedly monitoring the developments, amid growing public demand for transparency and accountability, especially after the recent tragedy that has shocked the nation.
